Kiana Hayeri

Visual Storyteller

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2017-07-15: 11 year old ???? care for her mother inside the oncology OPD of Jumhuriat Hospital while she receives her first dose of chemo treatment. 38-year-old Fatema was married off at age of 12 to a man 23 years older, Fatema's body have been through 21 pregnancy, with only 12 of the babies surviving. Married to an addicted man and struggling with extreme poverty, she had to give up two of her children at the time of birth and marry off her daughters at young age. Her 11 year old daughter (pictured here) was engaged when she was only 10. When Fatema was diagnosed with breast cancer, it took her 7 months to gather the money needed for her surgery and while she was supposed to be back 20 days later for her first chemo session, she was only able to borrow money for her chemo, a little over 3500 afs ($57), a month and a half later.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2017-07-17 | Parwin (44), feeling weak after receiving her 7th chemo treatment, lay down to rest in their small two room house in the neighbourhood of Fazel Beig. Her youngest son, Milad (4), noticing her mom is not feeling well lays down next her, hugging her tight.Darwin, herself, finished the 12 years of high school in 6 years, by studying on her own and taking exams. At age of 16, she entered the med school. When she was 19, after finishing her third year of university, she married her husband who is illiterate, and forced her to abandon her studies. She stayed home and raised her 8 kids, 2 of which have died from sickness. Despite her husband not liking his daughters going to school, Parwin fought for every one of them. Her oldest daughter, Fatema (17) just graduated from high school and wants to go to university to become a midwife. Her youngest daughter, just being 8, is in grade 5. Parwin and Fatema's greatest fear is that if she doesn't survive the cancer, the father will marry off the older daughters and stop them from going to school.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2017-07-15: Jamila (41) is prepared by the doctors and nurses for her first chemo treatment. Jamila and her husband travelled all the way from their village in Kunduz to Kabul, after the growing tutor in her left breast spread to her armpit and the pain became unbearable. In Kabul she was diagnosed with breast cancer stage four that has metastasis. She doesn't have long to live and she knows that. While holding on to a smile that once in a while disappears out of pain, talks about her rare marriage, a marriage out of love, with the man who is 6 years younger than her. Before leaving her village and knowing that she has probably reached the end, Jamila found her husband, whom she's still in love with, a wife. Someone who will continue to love and care for him and will be a mother to her 2 children.